MISSISSAUGA, ONT-Siemens Canada's building technologies group has signed a strategic agreement with Zero Waste Energy Systems (ZWES) to develop small-scale distributed power plants in southern Ontario, fuelled by biomass waste. The agreement calls for Siemens to design, build, operate and maintain energy-from-waste (EFW) infrastructure using ZWES engineered fuels, and to provide ZWES with technical support relating to the development, evaluation and selection of thermal conversion and emission control technologies. Siemens would also handle project financing and permitting responsibilities, as well as negotiating thermal sales agreements and electricity interconnection contracts. ZWES would be responsible for: developing standardized, engineered fuels from biomass feedstocks; testing the fuel blends and byproduct emissions to ensure consistency; securing enough biomass feedstock to ensure availability of adequate fuel supplies; and developing emission control technology for use with the engineered fuel blends. The company would also have full responsibility for all facets of waste management relating to the production of the organic waste-derived fuels. An integral part of the agreement is the proposed acquisition of ZWES by Plasma Environmental Technologies, another Mississauga company involved in the development of plasma- based systems for waste destruction. The transaction, which is subject to several conditions including shareholder approval, would enable ZWES to add plasma gasification to its range of available technologies for converting biomass to energy. More information is available from Ian Lipton at ZWES, 416/460-4286, E-mail ianlipton@ZWES.ca, or DL Leslie at Siemens Canada, 905/819-5926, E-mail dl.leslie@siemens.com.